If your data has ever been exposed in a breach or leak — or even if you've lost your wallet — your whole identity could be at risk. You might not even know something has gone wrong until a utility bill arrives for an account you didn't open. The best way to protect yourself is to take steps in advance, in this case, signing up for identity theft protection services ahead of time. This keeps your data safeguarded against scammers and thieves and will alert you if anything suspicious occurs.
We spent hours personally testing and using the services below with our own information — including contacting customer support and trying out the features — in order to find out which ones work best for each use.
The quick list
Our overall pick provides extensive identity protection coverage by monitoring your online identity, watching your personal data and notifying you about any issues. It also continually improves by adding features to protect you from every angle of online attack, including malware protection.
A good pick for beginners, this offers an entry level price and fundamental features including identity insurance, monitoring options that watch your credit, transactions, investments, personal information and social media accounts, and antivirus security software with a password manager and VPN.
Malware expertise and identity theft protection are bundled together to offer antivirus services with identity insurance, credit scores, and financial monitoring. The plans also protect an unlimited number of devices from online threats, and provide data broker clean up, a credit simulator, and restoration and recovery help.
A security-focused bundle that offers credit monitoring, reports and identity insurance alongside malware scanning, a password manager and a VPN, this is great for those who need online protection and want to include identity extras like dark web monitoring and a credit simulator.
A pick that provides a full array of easy to operate features to watch over your identity including credit monitoring and scores, financial and fraud alerts, and data broker removal. It also has a service to help guide you through restoration and recovery and includes antivirus protection with a password manager and VPN.
The best identity theft protection software you can buy today
Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.
Best identity theft protection overall
Lifelock is one of the oldest identity theft protection providers, and it offers some of the most comprehensive coverage around. During testing, we were impressed by its features: you get everything from credit monitoring and alerts to dark web monitoring, scam protection and a large amount of insurance. The service also offers traditional antivirus features like a VPN malware scanning and a password manager courtesy of an add-on with the Norton 360 security suite.
LifeLock offers $1 million each to cover lawyers, consultants, accountants, and experts in order to help you forensically examine and recover from an identity theft, credit card theft or money stolen and personal expenses such as lost work or the cost of getting new documentation like a passport or drivers license.
The service provides necessary features including dark web scanning, credit score access with the Vantage 3.0 rating system, title change check, and sex offender alerts. Our reviewer, Brian Nadel, also mentions more extensive features that help protect users — like the Social Media Monitoring which looks out for account takeovers and cyberbullying, a Privacy Monitor scan that monitors your information against data broker sites and a Computer Tune Up utility.
All these features are nicely organized in an interface that makes them easy to find, with major services highlighted. Brian found it easy to navigate through, adjust settings or find controls. While testing the service, most of the notifications he received were regarding bank transactions though LifeLock will also send alerts over data breaches, sex offenders in the neighborhood, or if a utility is opened in your name (among other issues).
Given that it can be paired with Norton 360 antivirus protection, LifeLock is clearly a product intended for those who want all the features – and who aren’t afraid to pay for it. It provides comprehensive identity theft protection with an amazing array of features, including an antivirus add-on that is known to be feature-rich, and includes utility add-on’s for those who want even more.
Read our full LifeLock review.
Best identity theft protection on a budget
One of the least expensive offerings, IDShield, is our pick for providing the basic needs for identity theft protection including monitoring credit, limiting rogue transactions, and keeping an eye on investments. It also includes up to $3 million in identity insurance, covers up to $1 million in stolen funds and provides antivirus software from Trend Micro. It does not come with an extra $25K in ransomware funds like some others do, but will provide experts like lawyers, accountants and investigators to assist with a restoration.
IDShield provides four tiers of plans to cover individuals or families with up to $3 million in identity theft insurance. There is no first year discount pricing, which means the annual fee remains the same year to year, and all the plans include the antivirus program.
During testing Brian found it did a good job of delivering and monitoring the Experian score, though it doesn’t have access to full credit reports or show scores from the other agencies. It does monitor suspicious activity from all three credit agencies, and provides a Vantage 3.0 score.
Interestingly, you get access to a Reputation Manager, which will scan social media accounts for inappropriate content in order to clean up your profiles – a unique feature that will also scrub your social media presence clean. None of the other services we tested for this guide have this feature, though they will monitor social media accounts.
The service will watch out for your information on the dark web, make sure your data isn’t used at payday loan establishments, and keep an eye on your medical records. It sends alerts about bank and investor accounts, social media monitoring, and sex offenders.
Brian highlighted the Privacy Check feature as a favorite, which works with data broker sites to find instances of your information that have leaked and then removes them. It’s a stand out offering for those who want both identity theft protection as well as antivirus software without breaking the bank.
Read our full IDShield review.
Best identity theft protection for families
McAfee has paired its antivirus software with TransUnion’s identity services for a comprehensive package for the age of cyber theft. Brian says he found Ultimate to be a well integrated solution with a common look and feel for generally easy use and navigation.
It simplifies combining identity protection with security software and includes antivirus protection for an unlimited number of devices as well as up to $2 million in identity theft insurance and an extra $25K in ransomware funds. There is also daily access to credit changes from all three major credit bureaus with scores, monitoring and freezes.
McAfee’s home page has boxes with numbers that clearly indicate any items that may be found in data breaches, as well as other metrics like how many devices are covered and more. It’s built around TransUnion offerings, so it includes features such as a TransUnion credit lock, however the Ultimate tier includes Equifax and Experian credit reporting as well.
Like the other services on this list, it provides a VantageScore 3.0 but it also gives an explanation of the items that affect that score as well credit improvement advice. McAfee will provide access to lawyers, accountants and detectives to investigate and remediate an identity theft, and provisions for lost wages and travel if needed. Plus, it includes a Personal Data Cleanup tool that can scrub your information from data broker sites.
During testing, Brian found the Online Account Cleanup particularly useful; the feature finds all the accounts associated with your email address. Likewise, he was impressed by the Protection Score that gives an overall safety rating and tells you which features of the program you have enabled.
On the antivirus side, McAfee’s program provides multiple scanning options to check for malware, and doesn’t slow down a system even when the VPN is enabled. Its integrated Scam Detector can warn you about any text, image, video or email scams that are geared toward you. Because of the unlimited devices covered, and the features that can easily improve your online safety, McAfee is a good pick for every member of the family.
Read our full McAfee + Ultimate review.
Best identity theft protection for security
Another service that uses TransUnion credit monitoring, reports and identity insurance, Bitdefender pairs it with its own malware protection in order to cover all the most important parts of a busy online life. The service provides up to $2 million of identity insurance and credit freeze, through TransUnion, as well as malware scanning, a password manager and a VPN.
Bitdefender’s base subscription includes credit reports and monitoring from TransUnion, but the extended account has reports and monitoring from Equifax and Experian as well. Credit reports are available on a quarterly basis, but there is daily access to a Vantage 3.0 score.
The service can track up to 10 bank and investment accounts, and keeps track of key personal accounts like passports, drivers licenses and credit cards. It will send alerts about suspicious activity like address changes and payday loans.
While testing Bitdefender, Brian liked the BreachIQ feature that told him if his data was being exposed and also provided him with an identity Safety Score. It showed data leaks with related dates and a rating; the service then gave actions to mitigate exposure.
Another feature he found useful was the credit simulator that lets users play out different scenarios for how to best pay off debt. On the antivirus side, another helpful inclusion was the Scam Alert, an AI-powered utility that analyzes texts, images and audio to determine if they’re fraudulent. Bitdefender’s focus on online security makes it ideal for those who want to include identity theft services with their antivirus protection.
Read our full Bitdefender Ultimate review.
Best identity theft protection support
Aura offers three tiers of identity protection, for individuals, couples or families, all three of which include monitoring and scores from all three credit bureaus as well as the Vantage 3.0 rating. It uses Plaid to monitor bank and investment accounts and will send alerts for duplicate charges, transactions that go over your preset limit, someone trying to set up bankruptcy proceedings, anyone trying to break into your investment accounts, sex offenders moving into the neighborhood and more.
One of the notable features Brian mentioned while testing is the 24/7 White Glove treatment, which gives an identity theft case over to a single case manager who will deal with all the restitution in order to get your life back on track.
He also mentions other features that make Aura particularly easy to navigate like the Me page in the interface that shows people within the family group and provides in-depth information, and the Vault which shows critical documents like your password manager and the details the service has removed from data brokers.
In addition to these features, Aura still offers features you would expect to find like a credit lock button (for Experian), dark web monitoring, malware scanning, a password manager and VPN, as well as sex offender and cyberbullying alerts, but also a Safe Gaming app which will keep an eye on in-game commenting, and a 24/7 customer support number which is one of the reasons Aura is a good pick for older users.
With a particularly easy interface, extensive support options and options for users that will cover all types of families, Aura is great for seniors who live alone, couples, or those who are part of a larger family group.
Read our full Aura review.
Also tested
When we test identity theft products, we first look at products with a solid reputation, good reviews, a wide array of features and a history of offering quality services. If our above selections don’t sound like what you’re looking for, check out the selections below, which also offer excellent options for identity theft coverage.
How we test and rate the best identity theft protection services
Our testing and analysis of the best identity theft protection services focuses on how well each one monitors credit information, financial activity and personal information. We also rate each service for how frequently it provides credit reports and credit scores (not including free annual credit reports).
We give extra weight to the services that offer tools to help improve your credit score, and penalize services that do not give you credit reports from all three credit bureaus. We also rate each service for the number of credit cards, debit cards and bank accounts they’ll monitor and paid close attention to whether or not a service provides email or SMS notifications for large changes to account balances or large expenses on a credit card.
We penalized services that didn’t allow us to add any personal information beyond our Social Security number, such as driver’s license number, phone number or multiple email addresses – this is all information that can be used to steal your identity and that is commonly taken in a data breach. We also gave extra points to services that detected any compromised personal information.
To test these services, we spent months trying out all the services on this list with actual personal information. During this testing period, our review used his own credit cards and bank accounts to sign up for each service then used his accounts as usual to look for signs of identity theft. He also opted into all email, SMS or phone alerts and regularly checked credit reports to monitor for changes.
Additionally, he tried out all the available features of each service to see which ones proved useful, helpful or clunky, poked through the user interface on both desktop and mobile to see how user friendly it was, and contacted customer support to see if they were responsive.
For more information, check out our how we test antivirus software and apps guide as well as our more general how we test page for Tom’s Guide.
How to choose the best identity protection service for you
The services we’ve reviewed in this guide often overlap – many of them monitor your information with the three major credit bureaus and will alert you if something concerning shows up. All of them watch the dark web, and some will search data broker sites, for mention of your name, Social Security number, credit card and bank account numbers.
Each of these services sends alerts, usually via text or email, and all of them are accessible via desktop or mobile apps on Android or iOS.
If you have your identity stolen while paying for one of these services, each service covers up to $1 million or more to restore your reputation and credit, sometimes including reimbursement for stolen funds and lost wages.
However, the differences between them are in how frequently you receive credit reports and scores, and which bureaus you’ll get credit scores from. Not every service monitors your bank, credit card and investment accounts. Not every one of these services will offer home title change alerts either. Some offer better features around cyberbullying, sex offender alerts and parental controls like game modes. Also, some of these services will offer two-factor login authentication to protect your account while others may not – and 2FA is a recommended step in protecting your accounts against hackers and account break-in’s.
What is identity theft insurance?
Much in the same way that an auto insurance policy will cover costs associated with problems that arise with a car accident, identity theft insurance will cover problems that arise from being a victim of identity theft.
Victims of identity theft and fraud may have a variety of issues from fraudulent charges to their accounts, damages to their credit history or reputation, financial damages and they may require other legal assistance. Identity theft insurance can cover a variety of the costs for identity restoration specialists such as legal fees for attorneys, court hearings, costs to replace personal documents, lost wages, fees charged by banks or costs for placing fraud alerts.
Sometimes identity theft insurance is offered as part of a bundled insurance policy for new homeowners insurance, or as part of an add-on to an existing policy for another service (like antivirus protection). The amount and range of the coverage will vary from insurer to insurer but usually aims to cover the costs it will take to complete the recovery process you’ll go through once becoming a victim of identity theft – however, it may not cover everything. Many policies do not cover stolen money or direct financial losses like unauthorized credit card purchases.
How to protect your identity for free
Any of the above services are worth paying for – especially if your personal information has been compromised in a data breach or data leak. However, you can take steps yourself to protect your identity and monitor your credit, all of which are completely free.
- Frequently check your bank, investment and credit card statements for unusual or suspicious activity
- Go to annualcreditreport.com for free yearly credit reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion
- Ask the credit reporting agencies to put a free credit freeze on your files, but be aware that while it is in place, it will keep any new accounts from being opened (even by you)
Do I really need to pay for identity protection?
Not necessarily. If you know that your data has never been compromised in a data breach or leak, and you’re vigilant about keeping a watch over all your accounts, you might be okay without it. Just remember to use strong, unique passwords on all your accounts, or use a password manager, and enable two-factor or multi-factor authentication whenever possible.
Credit Freeze vs. ID Protection: Which is better?
These are two different services with two different functions: A credit freeze is ideal for preventing new fraud and works by blocking access to your credit reports, which keeps any new accounts from being opened in your name. Identity protection, meanwhile, monitors your personal and financial information to alert you to suspicious activity and let you know if your information is being misused
Can ID protection actually stop theft from happening?
No, but no service can guarantee or stop a theft from happening. However, an identity theft protection service is designed to help you do two things: first, alert you to suspicious activity so you can stop any damage to your account quickly, and two, recover from fraud and identity theft after it has occurred which can be a difficult, expensive and complicated process to do on your own.
Why should I buy ID protection if my bank watches my money?
While your bank can watch your accounts for potential fraud, identity protection can proactively protect your personal information on the dark web, alert you if someone attempts to open a payday loan in your name, watch your medical information in case of medical fraud, check on your home title for any potential changes, alert your for address changes in your name or new utilities being opened in your name, or let you know if a sex offender has moved into your neighborhood. Basically, an identity theft service offers many more features than just watching your financial accounts.
Check out all of our security coverage:
Best antivirus software | Best parental control apps | Best password managers | Best antivirus for Android | Best antivirus for Mac
